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KAFA’s 2018-2019 Awardee, Robert Rhee is in a group exhibition titled the map is not the territory at the Portland Art Museum which is up until May 5th, 2019.

The map is not the territory is part of a triennial series featuring regional artists exploring place and boundaries. This inaugural exhibition focuses along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean stretching from Oregon through Washington and Vancouver, B.C., up to Alaska. The artists in this exhibition seek to reconceive and reimagine the Northwest. What does it mean to make art in this region today, and what are the immediate inspirations and pressing concerns that drive each artist’s work?

The exhibition title, the map is not the territory, derives from a remark by philosopher Alfred Korzybski, expressing the essential distinction between an object and its representation—or, more broadly, between our beliefs and the underlying reality. Through the field of general semantics, Korzybski’s intent was to improve the ways people interact with one another and the environment, particularly through critical use of words and other symbols in connection to our living experiences. In this vein, each artist has expanded their own practice and ideas while engaging with each other in preparation for the map is not the territory.

Organized by Grace Kook-Anderson, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art, in collaboration with the Museum’s education department.

Here is an image of the founding board members of KAFA in 1992 with jurors Henry Hopkins, Suzanne Muchnic, Josine Ianco-Starrels, and our first awardee Yun-Dong Nam.

The year 1992 was a historic and tumultuous year in Los Angeles. It was the year of the 1992 Uprisings (formerly referred to as the 1992 Riots). KAFA carried on with its duties, selecting an awardee and mounting an exhibition of his work. These photographs offer a glimpse at the complexities of conducting business during that time.

(top image: left to right, Dr. Indong Oh, Chairman of the Board of the Korean American Coalition and KAFA, Jessie Jackson; bottom image: Mr. Haksik Son, Selection Committee Chair, Yun-dong Nam, Awardee, andDr. Indong Oh, President)

The KAFA Board convened for its bi-annual board meeting this February 7th at the Oxford Hotel. Thank you to our dedicated board members who attended the meeting and sent in their proxy!

KAFA congratulates its 2018 Awardee, Robert Rhee. We had a lovely press conference at KCC and artist talk at KAFA Board Members Dr. and Mrs. Wilson Park’s home in Hancock Park. One of our jurors, Jan Tumlir joined us.

On July 7, 2017, KAFA Board Members met at the Marciano Art Foundation and Museum for a tour of the collection.

Thank you, Susan Baik, for coordinating this trip!

On May 24, 2017, the KAFA Board of Directors convened at CMay Gallery in the Pacific Design Center. Thank you so much, May Chung, for hosting. Many items were discussed, including 2016 Awardee Jennifer Moon’s upcoming exhibition at the Korean Cultural Center November 3-16,2017.

On April 21, 2016, the jury panel and KAFA Board Members met at Baik Art in Culver City. The selection meeting was hosted by Susan Baik, Secretary of KAFA and owner of Baik Art. There were 62 applicants in total, and after hours of careful deliberation, Jennifer Moon was selected to receive the 2016 KAFA Award.

2016 Jurors

Anne Ellegood, Senior Curator, Hammer Museum

Christine Y. Kim, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

John Tain, Curator for Modern and Contemporary Collections, Getty Research Institute